Biomass, and chemicals derived therefrom, hold promise in transitioning to a more sustainable bio-based economy. Carboxylic acids can be used as starting materials for the synthesis of a variety of potentially useful compounds. For example, polymerizable olefins can be accessed through transition metal catalyzed dehydrative decarbonylation of aliphatic carboxylic acids. Such reactions often employ Pd, Rh, or Ir catalysts and phosphine-based ligands, with some recent attention to use of base metals like Fe and Ni. These processes typically use a sacrificial stoichiometric anhydride, like acetic (Ac2O) or pivalic anhydride (Piv2O), which activates the carboxylic acid substrate by forming a mixed anhydride that can readily undergo oxidative addition to the metal center.